This invention relates to painting shields and, more specifically, to shields used for prohibiting paint from falling on protected areas during spray painting operations.
While many painting shields have been developed in the prior art, most such shields which are commercially sold are adaptable to brush and roller painting only, and are not specifically adapted to use by a spray painter. As a consequence, most professional painters using spray gun equipment have become accustomed to cutting large pieces of flat cardboard which the painter may hold in his hand to mask surfaces which are not to be painted. While this masking technique is satisfactory for some operations, it has been found to be highly unsatisfactory when airless spraying equipment is used, since the spraying equipment emits paint at extremely high velocity so that the paint spray itself can injure the painter if his arm or hand is placed in its trajectory.
Furthermore, such cardboard pieces which are commonly used are not well adapted to painting ceilings while masking walls, for example, since the painter is forced to stand on a ladder or other support while holding the shield member in one hand and a spray gun in the other hand. This entire operation places the painter in a relatively unstable position so that, particularly when using airless spraying equipment, he is subjected to a substantial risk of injury.
Painting shields have, in the prior art, included handles, most of which are relatively short, which permit a painter to firmly grasp the shield. These handles have required that the painter place his hand in close proximity to the location to be sprayed, risking, at the very least, painting of his hand, and in more serious situations a substantial injury to his hand or arm.